04.12.2017

Nestlé has given details of its support for charities in Russia in a report on corporate social responsibility entitled ‘Creating shared values’.

According to the report, the company has given help to over 50 charities, cooperating with some over many years. Organisations which have received assistance include the disability support group ‘ROOI Perspektiva’; ‘Life Line’ [Linia Zhizni]; ‘Children’s Villages’ [Detskie derevni SOS]; Downside Up; ‘Fair Aid’ [Spravedlivaya pomoshch]; ‘Age into Joy’ [Starost v radost].

The report also notes that Nestlé Rossiya aids boarding schools and children’s homes by supporting their projects and activities. Company staff are personally involved. In 2016, 84 organisations received help in arranging over 150 events, and nearly 90,000 people took part.

In 2016, all initiatives took place under the aegis of the ‘150 Good Deeds’ programme, coordinated to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the founding of the company. A broad range of ecological and charitable events were held throughout Russia, and activities included teaching in children’s homes, rubbish collection and charity fairs, for example.   All  this was integrated into a corporate programme involving a huge team of volunteers. In the regions, established ecological projects also received support.

‘Nestlé Rossiya’ also participated in #GivingTuesday. The company set up joint projects with charitable organisations to take place on that day. Company staff participated in collecting gifts for elderly people living in care homes in the Tver region. Pupils of Special Needs School No. 102 and the ‘Solnechny’ children’s home received sports equipment, winter clothing and shoes, stationery, books and other essentials. The ‘Rus’ grocery fund supplied food products for 10,000 people in 5 cities, including the elderly and impoverished, large families and disabled children.

‘Nestlé Rossiya’ ranked among the top 15 in the annual list of ‘Top corporate charities’ for 2016. Its programme ‘Concern for the older generation’ (Rostov-on-Don) gave it third place in nominations for ‘Best local programme for the infrastructure development of non-commercial organisations, charities and volunteering.’

The company was awarded a special prize for transparency by the ‘Top corporate charities’ project. The project is organised by the Donor’s Forum, the international network of auditing and consultancy firms PwC, and the financial newspaper ‘Vedomosti’, with a view to identifying the best, most socially responsible companies working in the charity sector.

Volunteer staff at Nestlé are regularly involved in activities supporting ecology, children’s homes and boarding schools, or in shared cookery sessions. Between 15 and 40 staff take part in each activity. The company covers transport costs, the supply of essential materials or food products.  Early in 2016, award ceremonies for best volunteers of the year were held in Moscow; factories in Perm, Samara, Timashyovsk, Vologda and Vyazniki; and in the trade offices of Pskov and St Petersburg.

The head of Nestlé Russia and Eurasia Region, Martial Rolland, said: ‘We take the development of partnerships with non-commercial organisations extremely seriously. These are organisations which help people in difficulty, war veterans, disabled people, and children who have been orphaned. We are also happy to support important cultural projects in Russia. Over the past ten years we have been building up our business on the concept of creating shared value. We see this not only as working in the interests of our shareholders, but also as contributing in society. We have set ourselves ambitious goals in three key areas – family, society and the planet – and we expect to achieve these by 2030. In particular we hope to help 50 million children lead healthier lives, to improve the lives of 30 million families in regions where Nestlé is present, and to minimise the impact of our production process on the environment.  Our plans and corporate social policy are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations two years ago.’

Material published in partnership with ‘ASI Consulting’.

Source: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2017/12/04/nestle-blagotvoritelnost/